How to Fix DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG

By ErrorFix · Updated October 22, 2026 · 6 min read

What DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG means

Before Chrome can load a website, it has to ask a DNS server for the site's address, and it runs a quick probe to check whether that process can even work. DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG is Chrome's verdict that the configuration behind that process is broken: something in your network settings, DNS server addresses, VPN leftovers, or security software is steering lookups down a path that does not work. The probe finished, and what it found was not a missing website but a broken setup.

This is different from the look-alike errors. With DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN, the lookup works fine but the domain genuinely does not exist — usually a typo in the address. With ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED, the lookup ran but came back empty. Here, Chrome cannot perform a trustworthy lookup at all, so the fault is always on your side: a dead DNS server in your network settings, a corrupted network stack, an uninstalled VPN that left its DNS entries behind, or an antivirus secure-DNS feature intercepting and mangling requests. Other devices on the same network usually work fine, which is the giveaway that the problem lives in this machine's configuration.

Common causes

• Invalid DNS server addresses: a dead or mistyped server left in your adapter settings, or one that stopped answering.
• Corrupted TCP/IP stack or Winsock: the networking plumbing itself is damaged, so no lookup can succeed regardless of servers.
• Leftover VPN configuration: an uninstalled VPN app left its DNS entries and virtual adapters behind, hijacking lookups.
• Security software intercepting DNS: an antivirus web shield or secure-DNS feature redirects lookups and breaks them.
• Stale network profile or bad DHCP lease: the router is handing out a broken DNS server that your system keeps re-applying.

How to fix DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG — step by step

Work through these fixes in order. Most cases are resolved by steps 2, 4, or 5.

1. Confirm the problem is your device's configuration. DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG is a verdict about your own machine, not the website, so confirm that before changing anything. Try loading two or three other well-known sites, then try the same site on a different device on the same Wi-Fi network, and try it on your phone with Wi-Fi off using mobile data. If the site fails everywhere, the website or its DNS is at fault and nothing on your computer will fix it. If other devices load the site fine and only this computer shows the error, the DNS configuration on this machine is broken, which is exactly what this error means. Also try a different browser on the same computer: if Chrome fails but Firefox or Edge works, the fault is inside Chrome's own DNS handling, and the Chrome-focused steps below will matter most.
2. Clear Chrome's host cache and flush the system DNS. A bad lookup result can be cached in two places, and both must be cleared before a configuration change can take effect. In Chrome, type chrome://net-internals/#dns in the address bar and click the Clear host cache button. Then open a terminal with administrator rights: on Windows, right-click the Start button, choose Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin), and run ipconfig /flushdns, then ipconfig /registerdns, then ipconfig /release followed by ipconfig /renew to pull a fresh DHCP lease with fresh DNS servers. On a Mac, open Terminal and run sudo dscacheutil -flushcache followed by sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder. Close Chrome completely, reopen it, and reload the site.
3. Reset the Windows TCP/IP stack and Winsock catalog. When the stack itself is damaged, DNS lookups fail no matter what servers are configured, and only a reset repairs it. On Windows, right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (Admin). Run netsh winsock reset first, then netsh int ip reset, then press Enter after each and wait for the confirmation lines. Restart the computer: the reset does not take effect until you reboot. After the restart, reload the site before doing anything else, so you can tell whether the reset alone fixed it. If the error is gone, you can stop here. If it is still there, the bad configuration is being re-applied by something on the system, and the next steps will find it.
4. Set reliable public DNS servers manually. A bad DHCP lease or an old manual entry can point your computer at a DNS server that no longer answers, and overriding it with a known-good server rules that out. On Windows 11, go to Settings, then Network and internet, then Advanced network settings, open the settings for your Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), click Properties, tick Use the following DNS server addresses, and enter 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 for Google or 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 for Cloudflare, then click OK. On a Mac, open System Settings, then Wi-Fi, click Details next to your network, open the DNS tab, remove any unfamiliar addresses with the minus button, and add the same public addresses with the plus button. Flush DNS once more as in step 2, and reload the site.
5. Remove VPN, proxy, and network-adapter leftovers. Uninstalled VPN apps often leave their DNS settings and virtual adapters behind, and Chrome reads that half-removed configuration as a bad config. On Windows, go to Settings, then Network and internet, then VPN, and remove any connections you no longer use; then open the Proxy page and make sure Use a proxy server is turned off. Open Device Manager, expand Network adapters, and uninstall any ghost TAP, TUN, or VPN adapters left by apps you removed, then restart. In Chrome, go to chrome://extensions and disable VPN, proxy, and DNS-related extensions, then test the site. If the error disappears, re-enable extensions one at a time to identify the one that was hijacking DNS.
6. Disable interfering security software and check for a hijacked hosts file. Antivirus web shields and secure-DNS features can intercept lookups and corrupt them, producing this exact error. Open your antivirus settings and temporarily pause web protection, secure DNS, or traffic scanning, then reload the site; re-enable it immediately after the test either way. If pausing it fixes the error, the security software's DNS filter is the cause, so switch its DNS filtering off permanently or replace it with the public DNS from step 4. Also inspect the hosts file: on Windows open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts in Notepad, on a Mac open /etc/hosts in a text editor. Delete any entries pointing real domains at 127.0.0.1 or unfamiliar addresses, keeping only the default localhost lines.

Did this fix it? Quick checklist

• The site loads without DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG
• Other sites and apps reach the internet normally
• The error stays gone with the VPN reconnected and extensions re-enabled
• The error is gone on a second device on the same network too, if available

If the error clears after the stack reset in step 3, the corruption was one-off — keep the public DNS from step 4 as insurance. If it only clears after the VPN cleanup in step 5, check any remaining VPN apps for a DNS or kill-switch setting that re-breaks lookups. If only Chrome shows the error while other browsers and apps work, the fault is inside Chrome: the host-cache clear in step 2 plus a Chrome reset (Settings, then Reset settings, then Restore settings to their original defaults) finishes the job.